I had this car for 5 years...keep it up perfect...1 day went to the store and the car never started up again. Towed it to a repair shop that told me there was nothing they could do as they don't work on engines (made me aware that it was the timing chain) and towed it back to my house...towed it again to another shop that told me not only was it my timing chain that had been broken but because the car was still being driven something else had broken in the process...(i don't know the name of it) totaling $3200 plus tax in repairs... is this car even worth fixing!

Reading that these cars have 3 major flaws

windshield wipers

timing chain

other engine issues

all these things need to be up for a recall

I purchased this vehicle new in 2013, and I have always changed oil & filter even more frequently than required by Chevy. I have had recent issues with service engine alerts. I took vehicle to my Chevy dealer who advised me not to drive it as it might incur severe engine damage. Engine is very noisy, and I have been advised that probable cause is a TIMING CHAIN ISSUE . Even at only 77,000 miles, probable cost is in range of 2650.00 including tax. Only recently I have become aware of ALL THE ENGINE PROBLEMS associated with Chevy 2.4 engines. It is now beyond the extended warranty I had purchased when vehicle was purchased new. I brought this auto because I felt compelled to buy an American company automobile, but needless to say I should have bought Hyundai or Kia that have a better/longer warranty. So much for wanting to support American companies. Next time I will purchase a better made foreign built auto which has a better warranty. SCREWED BY AN AMERICAN AUTO COMPANY.

2013 Chevy Equinox engine was pinging. I had to change the oil several times well before the oil usage said it was time for a change. Changing oil helped with the pinging and performance for a couple of weeks but then the same pinging would occur. After driving the vehicle about 200 miles the day before and adding a quart of 5w-30 full synthetic oil that night, I had an engine reduced power message and the stabilizer popped on the following day. Once I parked it, it would not start. Had it towed to the dealer and after looking at it, the timing chain had broken and bent the valves and caused other damage. The dealer is estimating repairs to cost $3000.

Had received information in the mail about the class action lawsuit for excessive oil consumption so wanted to wait to see what the settlement for this lawsuit would be before having it repaired. The settlement was made on Nov. 15th so will be talking with the dealer about what they will do to make this right. It is obvious that this problem is happening to many people. I will update.

We bought 2013 Chevy Equinox in Mar 2016 with approximately 90,000 miles from a dealership. We also purchased an extended Warranty for 2 years just because we didn’t know the history of maintenance on the vehicle.

In Sept of this year we had a huge hail storm and our vehicle was damaged, not enough to total it though. The car was repaired to a tune of 6500 dollars and when it was finished we picked it up and after starting it up we had a reduced power/traction control and check engine light on! We literally live about a block from the body shop so I turned around and took the vehicle back. The owner checked the codes with his computer, then cleared them. Upon restarting the car, the codes reappeared. He said leave it and he would take it to a Mechanic that he uses.

I received a call from the Mechanic within a couple of days and he said that the codes also included Timing Chain issues. He further stated that he did change the Oil and discovered metal in it and the Oil filter which alarmed him. I stated that I have had Oil changes consistently at a GM Dealership and they had never mentioned any issues so how could this have just happened between the last Oil change? He further stated that GM has had lots of issues with these motors having excessive Oil consumption and an upsurge in timing chain failures. He stated that he had another Chevy Equinox that had worn a hole in the timing chain cover and was spewing Oil. So he gave me prices to replace the motor with a used one for approximately $4200. I spent the day making calls to GM Customer Service and explaining our situation and provided our VIN number but they said there was nothing they could do.

I call the GM Dealership that had been doing our Oil changes and the Service manager said that he would like to look at the vehicle and diagnose it themselves because he felt it could be something other than the Timing Chain. We took the car and dropped it off and when the called they basically said the same thing and they recommended a new Motor. The GM motor replacement estimate from them was $9950 before taxes. So basically we have a car that we are still paying on and because we are just above the 120,000 mileage and our VIN wasn’t in the immediate Class Action Lawsuit we are totally screwed. I got to believe there’s a lot more people out there that are in the same boat as us. The worst part is no one mentioned Oil Consumption tests when I brought the issue up about having to add lots of oil in between oil changes and no mention of metal in the Oil. Shady through and through and this Company will do nothing to stand behind there products.

I LOVED MY EQUINOX, A 2013 CHEVY.

I went to start my car... it would not start. I had it towed to my mechanic's shop only to find out a few hours later...MY EQUINOX NEEDS THE ENGINE REPLACED TO THE TUNE OF $4000!!! WTF. THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE AND BUSTED UP THE VALVES... THIS IS CRAZY!

WE HAVE HAD OUR CAR ROUTINELY SERVICED (INCLUDING OIL CHANGES) WITHOUT FAIL, THIS IS CRAZY TO HAVE TO INCUR THIS EXPENSE WHEN THERE IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURERS PROBLEM WITH THESE ENGINES.

PLEASE ADVISE IF THERE IS A PATH TO RESOLVING THIS SITUATION WITHOUT MY FINANCIAL RUIN!!!!

Update from Feb 19, 2020: D. Griffie Spfld, Ohio

Quick overview:

Timing chain guide broke and jumped a few teeth causing a no start. Luckily it didn't damage the engine. Cleaned out debris and replaced timing chain set along with an improved bolt. Back up and running. This is a widespread issue and caused by multiple poor designs.

The story:

So I purchased this vehicle from someone who was selling it with a bad engine. It would turn over and not start. They complained at a point close to it not starting, the engine sounded loud. After I had to tow it home on a dolly. Upon inspection, all electrical wiring and connections looked good. The main fault I saw was for crank/cam timing. I first pulled the coils and plugs off and used my inspection scope to see if there appeared to be any damage on the pistons. Everything looked ok so I pulled the valve cover which was very easy (Chevy is typically good about being maintenance friendly) and looked at the chain and guides. It definitely looked like the black guide was broken and it had slack on the opposite end so I knew it was bad. I then pulled the timing cover (also very easy and only other thing I had to pull was the belt and tensioner) and verified the guide had busted. The bottom bolt was still in, but the top one was nowhere to be seen. I ordered a replacement and they make a stronger replacement for the top bolt which is a different plug for the top hole that actually holds the guide in place and I would suggest getting it. I also pulled the oil pan (also quite easy) and removed the windage tray and oil pickup tube and removed a ton of debris from it including the broken bolt from the guide! The last thing you want is to fix it just to have it fail later because it's clogged. Anyhow I replaced the timing chain set, removed all the junk from the tube, and reinstalled everything. I did a compression test to see if any valves may have been bent and to check the general condition on the engine and I was getting over 200 PSI on all cylinders (that's good)! I installed the spark plugs, changed the oil filter and started it up. Ran great after that! I'm just sad that Chevy didn't build with the quality I've seen in their other vehicles and the denial I've heard from on here. This is definitely a case of poor engineering seeing as so many people are experiencing this issue.

We've had our Equinox for two years and kept up with all maintenance. The engine started sounding a little rough one morning. I checked the fluids, especially since this model is notorious for burning a lot of oil. Oil was fine. Went out and while driving across a parking lot it cut off. It threw a code, "service stability track." Towed it to a mechanic friend who said the timing chain was shot and it bent the valves inside the engine. The whole engine will need to be replaced if we choose to fix it. I just finished paying this sucker off too. So angry!

On new years eve - on way to family celebration - the engine on our Chevy Equinox cut off and never turned over again. One minute before it died we saw the 'warning' signal' for the stabilitrack problem. Car was towed to our favorite auto repair shop/mechanic and he said from eyeballing it - it looked bad and suggested we call our insurer, USAA, before he touched it. USAA came out and said because there was no indication we hit an animal or collided with anything - they couldn't help us. Then our mechanic took a look. The timing chain had broken; the valves and pistons were damaged; oil hadn't leaked but gushed everywhere - even found oil on the back muffler and down low under the passenger seat. Engine needs to be replaced. Our favorite mechanic suggested we tow car to our dealer because 'they should see this' - there have been a number of timing chain breaks on the Equinox and maybe they will help resolve. We towed it to dealer. Criswell Chevrolet, Gaithersburg, MD looked at the car and said there's nothing they can do because we're out of warranty since car is at $128k miles. (That cost us $140.00) Timing chains aren't supposed to break or wear out in under 5 years. They're supposed to be superior to timing belts.

There is something seriously wrong and sad when a new car that you haven't owned even 5 years needs a new engine. Especially when it has under $130k miles. Our car cost $33k and we still have 14 months of car payments left. This was the very first new car my husband and I bought in our 25 years of marriage. Our many used Honda's, Nissan's and Toyota's over the years have always served us well but I really wanted our first new car to be American. So very disappointing.